Archbishop Gomez prays for victims of California high school shooting

Los Angeles, Calif., Nov 15, 2019 / 11:03 am

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles has encouraged the community to pray for victims of a shooting at a high school in southern California, where two people were killed Thursday morning.

"May God comfort their families and loved ones," he said in a statement Thursday. "Pray also for all the young people and faculty in the school and their families and pray for all the first responders and law enforcement officers."

On Thursday morning, a student at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita - located about 40 miles from Los Angeles - opened fire in a crowded school courtyard before the first class of the day, police said.

Two students - ages 16 and 14 - were killed, and three students were injured in the shooting. The names of the victims have not been released. Captain Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said there is no known connection between the suspect and the victims.

The suspect was found with a self-inflicted gun wound to the head, according to police, and is currently in the hospital in critical condition.

In his statement, Archbishop Gomez asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary and urged members of the archdiocese to pray for all those affected.

"May Our Blessed Mother keep them all in her maternal care and may God give them peace," he said.